Question

Mr. Sam is a 40-year-old man admitted to your unit following an emergency appendectomy at 0800. When you enter his room at 1400, he is sitting up in bed smiling and visiting with his family. He tells you he is hurting and asks for his pain medication. You check his medication record and find orders for morphine 5 to 10mg intravenous push every 4 hours as needed for pain.

1. List at least six (7) areas you will assess related to his pain.

2. Based on your assessment, you discuss administering 10 mg morphine with the registered nurse, who will give the intravenous medication.

        a.) What class of drugs does morphine belong to?

    b.) Why is it important for you to be aware of these things when the registered nurse

          is administering the drug?

Answer 1

1, Appendicitis starts with pain in the middle of the abdomen(belly button) and extends to the right lower quadrant. Assessment in the particular area help to find out the pain symptoms regarding appendicitis. Assess patient right upper quadrant, left upper quadrant, left lower quadrant, right lower quadrant, epigastric region, suprapubic region, periumbilical region for the pain by applying gentle pressure in this area of the abdomen.
2, a, Morphine drug class belongs to opioid analgesics. it acts in the brain and changes feelings and pain signals and responds to pain.
b, This is important to be aware of patient pain location and medication needs for medication administration safety and identify a problem in the system. it avoids medication error and overload and risk of side-effects. Assessing pain before administering medication help to find pain severity and medication needs. Ongoing pain assessment in appendicitis and analgesics needs help to treat patient pain and important advance in pain care. Assessment is important before administering opioid drugs because it becomes an addiction pain killer if it is given without pain and unreasonable.